Tension testing of additively manufactured specimens of 17-4 PH processed by Bound Metal Deposition

Abstract

In contrast to the traditional ways of subtractive manufacturing, additive manufacturing (AM), also known as 3D printing, adapts computer-aided design to iteratively build the component or part layer by layer. The technology has recently gained a high momentum, both within academia, but also within the industrial sector. However, it is common that parts produced by AM will have more defects than parts produced by traditional methods. The objective of this paper is to investigate a new method of additive manufacturing, namely the bound metal deposition method (BMD). This method seemed promising from the perspective that the metal is not iteratively being melted, similar to such as welding. In fact, the part is first printed, then washed, for then to be sintered. Consequently, avoiding the complex thermal histories/cycles. It was found that the material will exhibit anisotropic behaviour, and have a mesh of crack like defects, related to the printing orientation.